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progVisions is a progressive rock e-zine, published in English and made by an international group of members. Our objective is to become a centre of information that contributes to the knowledge, growth and development of progressive rock.

dvd & video review

Roger
Waters - In
the flesh – Live - 2002

Curiously, after my arrival from the trip to Barcelona to see Roger
Waters playing live at the Palau Sant Jordi, I found that
this DVD –which encapsulates Waters’
American tour in the year 2000- had arrived home, after many delays
and rumors on the Internet.

In fact, many of the surprises from the disc as well as from the
concerts have been, more or less, spoiled by the exhaustive coverage
that the latest tours from the former Pink
Floyd member have had on the web – not only the last
one but also those done in 2000 and 1999 -. So, having so much information
about the different set-lists available it becomes almost impossible
not to miss some tracks (in my case, it’d be “What
God wants” and the complete version of “Shine
on you crazy diamond”).

In the particular case of this DVD we get the same songs we got
on the double CD of same name – with a much better sound quality
- , in other words, the usual set that Roger
Waters used to do around the date of filming this concert:
June 27th at the Rose Garden Arena in Portland, Oregon.

With the screen in 16:9 format and Dolby 5.1 sound (there is even
a special menu for the correct configuration of the speakers in
surround mode) the quality of the performances as well as of the
takes is great, crystal clear and full detail. If the "Pulse"
video is ever released on DVD (which looks quite likely) this is
it’s perfect complement thanks to Water’s
choice of darker material not only from Floyd’s
catalogue but also from his own career (such us songs from "The
Final Cut" and "Animals"
but playing nothing from "Radio KAOS").

The lights and the visuals in general are quite effective, Waters
had stated in various interviews that he wanted to establish a narration
along with the songs and the projections, something he’s achieved.
But, the use of certain images (like some of the photographs from
the performance of The Wall at Berlin in 1990) makes the set up
look a bit cheap. Although Waters
is famous for his search of perfection, there a few details that
make the recording a bit rougher and more alive than other show
recordings, for instance, there is a small mistake on the acoustic
guitar at the beginning of “Pings
on the wing”.

As of extras, there is a short (25 minutes) documentary that looks
at the usual stuff for a show (rehearsals, jokes – specially
between Waters and Andy
Fairweather Low -, and even economical aspects). It’s
been said the this documentary has been one of the causes of these
release’s delay. There is also a photo gallery from the tour,
biographies for each member of the band (excepting Roger
Waters, modesty, I guess) and the possibility of watching
on-screen lyrics during the show for those who are easy forgetters
or want to take part in a Floydian
karaoke.

So, this is a perfect souvenir for those who went to any gig of
this tour, and a good chance for those who did not see it, just
to know what they’ve missed or even for those who had the
Cd and were wondering what the band did during the middle section
of “Dogs”. Definitely,
a wonderful piece to add to any Pink Floyd’s
fan collection. (You knew that it was going to end like this, didn’t
you?).